a haircut at London’s barber college

The economy, we are told, is in a bad way. Truth be told my own economy has always been in a bad way; one is supposed to spend less than one earns, apparently, not the other way round. It is time to cut back.

For that reason I have arrived at the London School of Barbering, on Artillery Lane near Liverpool Street. It’s the sort of alley that tour guides take Jack the Ripper voyeurs down. There are ancient, unlit gas lamps, and the Williams Ale & Cider House — despite sitting next to a cryotherapy chamber — gives olde-worlde charm.

The school is based opposite the pub, and it is through this door that a man can get a free haircut if he’s willing